DULUTH, Ga. – The Georgia Baptist Mission Board will be offering training on Sept. 17 for people who want to get involved with the state’s Disaster Relief ministry. “This is a ministry that allows Georgia Baptists to truly bring help, hope and healing to the hurting,” said Dwain Carter, the state Mission Board’s Disaster Relief director. “It deploys teams of volunteers into disaster zones after tornados, hurricanes, floods, famines, or any other kind of calamity that negatively impacts lives.”

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) — As Argentina’s Vice President Cristina Fernández stepped from her car outside her apartment building and began shaking hands with a throng of well-wishers, a man came forward with a gun, put it just inches from her face and pulled the trigger with a distinct click. The weapon apparently jammed.

WASHINGTON (AP) — America’s employers slowed their hiring in August in the face of rising interest rates, high inflation and sluggish consumer spending, all of which weakened the outlook for the economy. The government reported that the economy added 315,000 jobs last month, down from 526,000 in July and below the average gain of the previous three months. The unemployment rate rose to 3.7%, from a half-century low of 3.5% in July, as more Americans came off the sidelines to look for jobs.

NEW YORK (AP) — Serena and Venus Williams lost in the first round of doubles at the U.S. Open. They were eliminated by the Czech pair of Lucie Hradecka and Linda Noskova 7-6 (5), 6-4 on Thursday night. Arthur Ashe Stadium had never hosted a first-round doubles match until this one featuring two American sisters who have combined to claim 14 Grand Slam titles in doubles but were partnering for the first time since the 2018 French Open.

ATLANTA (AP) — Rookie Spencer Strider set an Atlanta record with 16 strikeouts while allowing only two hits in eight innings to lead the Braves to a 3-0 win over the Colorado Rockies. Austin Riley and rookie Michael Harris II hit home runs for Atlanta. Strider logged his longest career start. He did not walk a batter. The Braves remained three games behind the NL East-leading New York Mets.

Local law enforcement agencies from suburban Southern California to rural North Carolina have been using an obscure cellphone tracking tool, at times without search warrants, that empowers them to follow people’s movements months back in time. Public records and internal emails obtained by The Associated Press show police have used the database known as “Fog Reveal” to search hundreds of billions of records drawn from 250 million devices.

FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. (AP) — Atlanta Falcons linebacker Deion Jones, who missed most of the preseason while recovering from offseason right shoulder surgery, will open the season on injured reserve. The Falcons have also placed former starting offensive guard Jalen Mayfield, cornerback Isaiah Oliver, defensive lineman Marlon Davidson and rookie tight end John FitzPatrick on injured reserve. Each player will be eligible to return after missing four games.

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (BP) – Citing a desire to “be a more present and participative father and grandfather” and the conviction that his vision for the role of the executive director is …

NASHVILLE (BP) – A matchup between two Baptist colleges joins a slew of games tonight as Week 1 of college football begins, ushering in what many actually consider the most wonderful time of the year. Oklahoma Baptist, coming off its most successful season in school history, will host Ouachita Baptist tonight in Shawnee. Ouachita is ranked 17th in the Division II preseason coaches’ poll and earned a #2 ranking in the Great American Conference preseason poll, in which Oklahoma Baptist was ranked fifth by coaches.

NASHVILLE (BP) – This week’s Bible study is adapted from The Gospel Project curriculum by Lifeway Christian Resources and focuses on 1 Kings 12–14.

GRAND BLANC, Mich. (BP) – Rick and Cindy Truesdail’s retirements a few years ago came with plans. They took their camper and drove to Florida, setting up close to the beach. The couple …

Walk through the doors of Beaverdam Baptist Church on Sunday mornings and you’ll feel the love. You can’t escape the smiles, the handshakes, the hugs. Pastor Chuck Cook says that’s why Beaverdam is going great guns right now. Since Cook became pastor less than three years ago, the 200-year-old church in rural Georgia, an hour northeast of Atlanta, has seen a resurgence in attendance, memberships, and baptisms. The sanctuary and parking lot have been filled with an average of about 130 people, forcing Beaverdam’s leadership to start a second Sunday morning service to better accommodate the crowds.

ATLANTA (AP) — A significant chunk of Georgia’s defense for the ages has moved on to the NFL. Can we expect a major drop-off in 2022? Don’t count on it. The reigning national champions still have plenty of talent on defense, led by massive lineman Jalen Carter, linebacker Nolan Smith, and defensive backs Kelee Ringo and Christopher Smith. They’ll get a chance to claim the spotlight when No. 3 Georgia opens the season Saturday against No. 11 Oregon in Atlanta.

ATLANTA (AP) — One of Atlanta’s largest hospitals says it plans to shut down in two months after experiencing more than $100 million in losses over the past year. Wellstar announced late Wednesday that the Atlanta Medical Center will close on Nov. 1. Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens blasted the decision, noting the hospital's vital role in treating emergencies and low-income residents.

Permanently misspelled tweets might soon be a thing of the past. Twitter said Thursday it’s working on allowing users to edit their tweets, which it said is one of the most requested features to date. The social media company said in a blog post that it’s testing the “Edit Tweet” feature internally with plans to roll it out later this month to subscribers of its premium Twitter Blue service.

ATLANTA (AP) — Georgia’s governor is extending the suspension of the state’s motor fuel tax through mid-October. Gov. Brian Kemp on Thursday signed an executive order extending the suspension for a fourth time. Georgia’s gasoline price normally includes a state tax of 29.1 cents per gallon. Motorist group AAA says the average price for regular gas in Georgia is $3.37 a gallon.

CASTAIC, Calif. (AP) — Firefighters are battling two California blazes that are raging in rural areas and have prompted evacuations in the midst of a scorching heat wave. Authorities are battling a 4,625-acre blaze that prompted the evacuation of a mobile home park in the Castaic area in northwestern Los Angeles County. Eight firefighters have been treated for heat-related injuries.

ATLANTA – The Georgia Department of Education Wednesday announced a pilot project to test a new method for evaluating teacher performance.  The new program will be called GaLEADS. It will be tried in a dozen Georgia school districts beginning in the 2023-2024 school year. Districts will be able to apply to participate in the pilot beginning Thursday.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Reports of sexual assaults across the U.S. military jumped by 13% last year, driven by significant increases in the Army and the Navy as bases began to move out of pandemic restrictions and public venues opened back up. U.S. defense and military officials also told The Associated Press that close to 36,000 service members said in a confidential survey that they had experienced unwanted sexual contact. That's a dramatic increase over the roughly 20,000 who said that in a similar 2018 survey.

LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Michigan’s state Board of Canvassers has rejected a ballot initiative seeking to enshrine abortion rights in the state’s constitution. The state Board of Canvassers denied the initiative Wednesday after its two Republican members voted against putting the proposed constitutional amendment on the November ballot.

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — People are waiting in lines for water in Jackson, Mississippi, after the partial failure of the city water system. Some homes and businesses have running water, but many do not. Flooding of the Pearl River worsened longstanding problems in one of two water-treatment plants.

BEIJING (AP) — Chinese authorities have locked down Chengdu, a southwestern city of 21 million people, following a spike in COVID-19 cases. Residents have been ordered to stay home, and about 70% of the flights have been suspended to and from the city, which is a major transit hub in Sichuan province and a governmental and economic center.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Department of Transportation has launched a customer service dashboard to help vacationers ahead of the travel-heavy Labor Day weekend. Starting Thursday, travelers will be able to check the dashboard and see what kinds of guarantees, refunds or compensation the major domestic airlines offer in case of flight delays or cancellations.

BEIJING (AP) — The U.N. has accused China of serious human rights violations that may amount to “crimes against humanity” in a long-delayed report examining a crackdown on Uyghurs and other mostly Muslim ethnic groups. Beijing on Thursday denounced the assessment as a fabrication cooked up by Western nations. For several years, human rights groups have accused China of sweeping a million or more people from the minority groups into detention camps.

MOSCOW (AP) — Russian President Vladimir Putin paid tribute to former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev but will not attend the weekend funeral, a decision reflecting the Kremlin’s ambivalence about Gorbachev’s legacy. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that Putin's working schedule wouldn't allow him to attend Saturday's funeral, adding that the Russian leader on Thursday visited a Moscow hospital where Mikhail Gorbachev’s body is kept to lay flowers at his coffin.